The Poor

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

THE POOR

Prov 17:5

5 He who mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker; whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished.

NIV

Certainly we believers would never mock a poor person, we would speak in such a manner as to deride them or for that matter gloat when disaster strikes upon a group or a single person. So why are we admonished not to do this? Is it possible we could be guilty and unaware of our offense? It does seem that in our country those who are in power, those who we call politicians might be guilty of this type of offence. By their self-servicing help of the poor it is a form of mocking, a form of gloating over the disaster which befalls people. But what of believers, those of us who read and contemplate the scriptures? How would we mock, as imitating a foreigner, to speak unintelligibly? Could we, by putting on the poor mouth, be mocking those who are truly poor? Could we, when seeing someone who has far more than us, having a bit of envy, thinking how little we have in comparison, be in some way mocking those who are really poor? What about the spiritual aspect of wealth and poor?  There is no greater wealth then to be co-heirs with Jesus. But do we speak against in any way about those who choose to not believe? Do we mock or show contempt toward those poor souls who are bound for disaster? Jesus said that we would always have the poor among us, that we can help them anything we want. Now in context he was speaking to his disciples and that they would not always have him in the flesh to be with them, but of course Jesus is always with us, even to the end. But the fact is we will always have to poor, the truly poor, but the poor in material goods and the poor in spiritual blessings. We should know we are not poor, and we such not in any way speak ill of those who have nothing materially, but especially of those who do not have Jesus, the truly poor.